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Friday, 11 December 2015

Prosciutto and Vegetable Bake

I’d just like to start off by saying this; I know, I know… admittedly it has been a good while since I did my last post. Unfortunately with coursework deadlines (plus other exciting work experience opportunities which you’ll hear about in posts to come within the next new year. I wish I could show you now but I’m not allowed yet. It’s all very secretive I know, you can’t handle the anticipation can you?)

Anyway, I can claim that blogging hasn’t exactly been my main priority over these past 2 weeks. Still, I’ve just managed to fit in this Prosciutto and Vegetable Bake. Wehey!

This bake is a real winter warmer. I’d have it any time of the day. Easy. Something I’d happily snuggle up with beside the fire, all cosy (well I imagine I would if we actually had one that is. #Life goals.) It’s simple enough to do too. Bonus! You know that feeling when you can’t really be that bothered to make an effort as the evenings grow longer and longer, and you’ve just got in after a hard day's slog but you still want something that’s actually quite good for you. Well, this kinda is good for you until you flood all the veg with a sumptuous cheesy sauce. Oopps, but at least you still got some of your five a day in there.

You just chuck it all into a greased ovenproof dish, I still like to neatly arrange the veg and prosciutto but you can chuck it in if you aren’t as pedantic like me. Then pour over the thick cheese sauce, give a quick sprinkling of crumbs and that’s it. Done! You can do this whole dish ahead of time if you prefer and so it can be kept in the fridge for up to 12 hours. So you could (could is a very loose term) be really prepared if you wanted to be…but I realise that’s not always how it pans out in the end...

When you are ready to bake it, it only takes 20-25 minutes until it’s all bubbling and crispy round the edges, yeah - those bits that everyone wants to have but you have entitlement to over, and rightly so as you made it. Ha! The top turns a lovely golden colour from the cheese mixed with the breadcrumbs. Just yum. Simple as.

This bake serves 6 and is delicious on its own. Because I have added the prosciutto ham you wouldn’t really want to serve this as a side with sausages or chops for example, but, if you wanted to do that I would remove the ham. And as for vegetarians the same goes eh?

Prosciutto and Vegetable Bake

Recipe adapted from Mary Berry’s Cauliflower, Broccoli & Potato Bake.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

500g potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes

350g cauliflower florets

250g broccoli florets

160g prosciutto ham

For the cheese sauce:

50g butter

1 onion, finely chopped

50g plain flour

500ml milk, warmed

Salt and pepper

1 tsp Dijon mustard

75g parmesan, grated

75g mature cheddar, grated

50g wholemeal breadcrumbs

Method

Preheat the oven to 220° C /Gas 7/ 425°F . To prepare, first butter a 2-litre (3 pint) shallow ovenproof dish. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and either add the potato and later the cauliflower and broccoli until cooked, or I like to steam the cauliflower and broccoli using a steamer pan placed on top the boiling water with the potatoes. Then once all cooked, drain and refresh the vegetables in cold water to stop the cooking process and to cool them down quicker.

To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter over a low heat in a medium sized saucepan. Gently fry the chopped onion for 10 minutes then once they have started to turn translucent add the flour and whisk over the heat for 1 minute. Gradually start to add the warmed milk bit by bit. Whisking all the time until you have added it all in and the sauce is smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper and add the mustard with half of the grated cheeses.

Now to assemble the bake. Make sure the vegetables are dry and arrange them in the buttered dish. I like to alternate between the different vegetables so that you get a nice layer of each within each portion. Break the prosciutto ham into smaller pieces and distribute evenly on top of the vegetables. Pour over the cheese sauce and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and remaining half of the grated cheeses.